One of the best ways to increase student engagement in the classroom is to use discussion prompts to encourage student collaboration and interactive learning. Discussion prompts are anything that an educator uses to engage the student’s senses to create thoughts or questions. Examples of discussion prompts could be: video clips, audio clips, photographs, quotes, statements, graphics, problems, newspaper articles, advertisements or even words. These prompts are usually displayed without comment and after giving students time to think about them, are used for group or class discussion. Let’s take a look at the process for using discussion prompts.

Like all instructional techniques, in order to be successful, some initial planning will be needed. Before selecting a discussion prompt, the teacher must make sure that the standard (or standards) that students need to learn is clear. The discussion that is created by the prompt must tie to the standard being taught or at least must be something that a teacher redirect can lead back to the standard. It is essential that the prompt is targeted toward student learning and only prompts that lead students toward the desired learning target(s) should be considered.

With the availability of technology and the Internet, finding quality discussion prompts is easier than ever. If the learning target has been carefully determined, often a quick search using keywords from the learning target along with the desired prompt type can reveal many possibilities. For example, a search of YouTube using a few keywords from a learning target will generally yield multiple video possibilities. Doing a search in any search engine using keywords plus the word “quote” will often reveal quotes pertaining to the learning standard; adding “image” or “picture” will get pictures, etc. The online world is so massive, it is hard to imagine many learning targets that will not have many good prompts to choose from.

The implementation of a learning prompt into the lesson must be done carefully and with some preparation in order to be effective. Teachers should create a leading question or two to open discussion and student thinking. “What do you see here?’ “How does this make you feel?” “How does this relate to what we’ve been learning?” “What are your thoughts?” These are all examples of opening questions. Students might also be asked to discuss what they have seen in groups before discussion begins with the whole class. The teacher also needs to be prepared to redirect the discussion with directed questions if the discussion moves away from the intended learning objective. For example, the teacher might say, “Those are great thoughts, would you say that relates to…” or “Good observations but what about…” as ways of redirecting the discussion.

Finally, teachers should be constantly assessing student learning during the conversation as it is an excellent tool for formative assessment. The teacher should have in mind the key things that students should be talking about and observe which students are on track and redirect those that are not. This is the most basic form of intervention and helps the teacher to know where students are in their learning even before more formal assessment and in a way that allows for timely intervention.

When properly planned and executed, the use of discussion prompts is one of the most effective ways to create directed discussion that leads to student mastery of learning targets while giving teachers a way to observe and assess student learning. Making use of prompts is not only effective but is an effective use of technology in the classroom. Use discussion prompts in your classroom and you may find that the need for facts based, direct teaching will be greatly reduced or even eliminated altogether.